II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5187 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a tax credit 

for Qualified Community College Bonds, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish 

a tax credit for Qualified Community College Bonds, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community College 

5 Infrastructure Financing Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE 

7 BONDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part IV of subchapter A of chap9 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended 

10 by inserting after subpart G the following new subpart: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart H—Qualified Community College Bonds 

2 ‘‘SEC. 54. QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS. 

3 ‘‘(a) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS.— 

4 For purposes of this subchapter, the term ‘qualified com5 munity college bond’ means any bond issued as part of 

6 an issue if— 

7 ‘‘(1) 95 percent of the available project pro8 ceeds of such issue are to be used for a qualified 

9 purpose with respect to a qualified community col10 lege, 

11 ‘‘(2) the bond is issued by a State, local, or In12 dian tribal government in consultation with the ju13 risdictions of which such college is located, and 

14 ‘‘(3) the issuer— 

15 ‘‘(A) designates such bond for purposes of 

16 this section, and 

17 ‘‘(B) certifies that it has the written ap18 proval of the governing body and the State 

19 higher education agency for such bond issuance. 

20 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF BONDS DES21 IGNATED.— 

22 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL LIMITATION.—There is a na23 tional community college bond limitation of 

24 $1,000,000,000 for each calendar year. 

25 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF LIMITATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The national commu2 nity college bond limitation for a calendar year 

3 shall be allocated by the Secretary to any gov4 erning body which— 

5 ‘‘(i) has submitted an application de6 scribed in subparagraph (C), and 

7 ‘‘(ii) pursuant to the considerations 

8 described in subparagraphs (C) and (D), 

9 the Secretary (in consultation with the 

10 Secretary of Education) has approved an 

11 allocation of such limitation under this 

12 paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(B) CUMULATIVE LIMITATION PER

14 STATE.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the 

15 total amount of allocations made to qualified 

16 community colleges located with a State for any 

17 calendar year shall not exceed an amount equal 

18 to 10 percent of the national community college 

19 bond limitation for such calendar year. 

20 ‘‘(C) APPLICATIONS.—An application de21 scribed in this subparagraph shall include such 

22 information as the Secretary (in consultation 

23 with the Secretary of Education) may require, 

24 including the following: 

25 ‘‘(i) A description of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the financial sustainability of 

2 the proposal, including how the gov3 erning body will leverage other 

4 sources of funding, and 

5 ‘‘(II) how the qualified purposes 

6 proposed with respect to the qualified 

7 community college will fill an unmet 

8 need within a qualified area. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Any relevant approvals with re10 spect to the proposal that have been grant11 ed by any applicable State, local, or Indian 

12 Tribal government or appropriate accred13 iting body. 

14 ‘‘(iii) A certification that the gov15 erning body— 

16 ‘‘(I) has consulted with the juris17 dictions in which the qualified commu18 nity college is, or will be, located, and 

19 ‘‘(II) has the written approval of 

20 the State higher education agency for 

21 the proposal. 

22 ‘‘(iv) In the case of an application 

23 proposing to establish a new qualified com24 munity college, in addition to the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5187.IS S5187

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1 ments described in clauses (i), (ii), and 

2 (iii)— 

3 ‘‘(I) whether such proposal has 

4 received approval from the State high5 er education agency, and 

6 ‘‘(II) a description of the sustain7 ability of such qualified community 

8 college, including any commitment 

9 from any State, local, or Indian Tribal 

10 government to provide additional 

11 funding for such college. 

12 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY FOR ALLOCATIONS.—For 

13 purposes of making allocations under this para14 graph, the Secretary (in consultation with the 

15 Secretary of Education) shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) give highest priority to any pro17 posed qualified community college which 

18 will serve the residents of— 

19 ‘‘(I) the State’s largest metropoli20 tan statistical area which does not 

21 contain an institution described in 

22 subsection (c)(5)(A), or 

23 ‘‘(II) if subclause (I) does not 

24 apply, the largest micropolitan statis25 tical area within such State which 


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1 does not contain an institution de2 scribed in such subsection, 

3 ‘‘(ii) after application of clause (i), 

4 give high priority to any governing body 

5 which— 

6 ‘‘(I) has or will have a partner7 ship with— 

8 ‘‘(aa) 1 or more local high 

9 schools (as defined in section 

10 8101 of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 7801)), including a 

13 dual or concurrent enrollment 

14 program (as defined in such sec15 tion), 

16 ‘‘(bb) a 4-year institution of 

17 higher education that includes a 

18 credit-transfer agreement or ar19 ticulation agreement (as defined 

20 in section 486A(a) of the Higher 

21 Education Act of 1965 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1093a(a))) for students at 

23 the qualified community college, 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) a State workforce de2 velopment board established 

3 under section 101 of the Work4 force Innovation and Opportunity 

5 Act (29 U.S.C. 3111), or 

6 ‘‘(II) is the governing body of, or 

7 has or will have a partnership with, 

8 an institution which is— 

9 ‘‘(aa) a part B institution 

10 (as defined in section 322 of the 

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 

12 (20 U.S.C. 1061)), 

13 ‘‘(bb) a Historically Black 

14 Graduate Professional School (as 

15 identified in section 326(e) of 

16 such Act (20 U.S.C. 1063b(e))), 

17 ‘‘(cc) a Hispanic-serving in18 stitution (as defined in section 

19 502(a) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

20 1101a(a))), 

21 ‘‘(dd) a Tribal College or 

22 University (as defined in section 

23 316(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

24 1059c(b))), 


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1 ‘‘(ee) an Alaska Native-serv2 ing institution or a Native Ha3 waiian-serving institution (as 

4 such terms are defined in section 

5 317(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

6 1059d(b))), 

7 ‘‘(ff) a Predominantly Black 

8 institution (as defined in section 

9 371(c) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

10 1067q(c))), 

11 ‘‘(gg) an Asian American 

12 and Native American Pacific Is13 lander-serving institution (as de14 fined in section 371(c) of such 

15 Act (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))), or 

16 ‘‘(hh) a Native American17 serving nontribal institution (as 

18 defined in section 371(c) of such 

19 Act (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))), and 

20 ‘‘(iii) after application of clauses (i) 

21 and (ii), give priority to any governing 

22 body which, in carrying out a new con23 struction or renovation project using any 

24 available project proceeds from the 

25 issuance of any qualified community colVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:04 Oct 09, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5187.IS S5187

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1 lege bond, plans to use not less than 80 

2 percent of such proceeds for construction 

3 or renovation that is certified, verified, or 

4 consistent with the applicable provisions 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(I) the Leadership in Energy 

7 and Environmental Design green 

8 building rating standard of the United 

9 States Green Building Council, 

10 ‘‘(II) the Living Building Chal11 lenge green building certification pro12 gram developed by the International 

13 Living Future Institute, 

14 ‘‘(III) a green building rating 

15 program developed by the Collabo16 rative for High-Performance Schools 

17 that is designated as CHPS Verified, 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(IV) a green building program 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(aa) has standards that are 

22 equivalent to or more stringent 

23 than the standards of a program 

24 described in subclause (I), (II), 

25 or (III), 


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1 ‘‘(bb) is adopted by the 

2 State or another jurisdiction with 

3 authority over the qualified com4 munity college, and 

5 ‘‘(cc) includes a verifiable 

6 method to demonstrate compli7 ance with the program. 

8 ‘‘(3) DESIGNATION SUBJECT TO LIMITATION

9 AMOUNT.—The maximum aggregate face amount of 

10 bonds issued during any calendar year which may be 

11 designated under subsection (a) with respect to any 

12 qualified community college shall not exceed the lim13 itation amount allocated to the governing body of 

14 such college under paragraph (2) for such calendar 

15 year. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) GOVERNING BODY.—The term ‘governing 

18 body’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the board of trustees or other gov20 erning organization of a qualified community 

21 college, or 

22 ‘‘(B) a State, local, or Indian Tribal gov23 ernment (or any political subdivision thereof), 

24 or any combination of local educational agencies 

25 or municipalities, that participates or proposes 


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1 to participate in the establishment and oper2 ation of a qualified community college. 

3 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

4 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

5 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

7 ‘‘(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in section 8101 of the Elementary and Sec10 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), ex11 cept such term shall include any elementary school 

12 or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian 

13 Education, notwithstanding section 8101(30)(C) of 

14 such Act. 

15 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED AREA.—The term ‘qualified 

16 area’ means any of the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) A city, metropolitan statistical area, 

18 or county that does not contain any institution 

19 described in paragraph (5)(A). 

20 ‘‘(B) A low-income community (as defined 

21 in section 45D(e)). 

22 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The 

23 term ‘qualified community college’ means a public 

24 institution of higher education— 


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1 ‘‘(A) at which the highest degree that is 

2 predominantly awarded to students is an asso3 ciate degree (including 2-year tribally controlled 

4 colleges under section 316 of the Higher Edu5 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c) and pub6 lic 2-year institutions of higher education), 

7 ‘‘(B) that is established by and operated 

8 under the supervision of a governing body in 

9 conjunction with the State, local, and Indian 

10 tribal governments whose residents will be 

11 served by such institution, and 

12 ‘‘(C) that is located within a qualified area. 

13 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED PURPOSE.—The term ‘quali14 fied purpose’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) establishing and operating a qualified 

16 community college, 

17 ‘‘(B) expanding an existing qualified com18 munity college to a qualified area, 

19 ‘‘(C) constructing, rehabilitating, repairing, 

20 upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any facility 

21 owned or to be used by a qualified community 

22 college to carry out the educational purposes 

23 (including instructional and research purposes) 

24 of such college, 


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1 ‘‘(D) providing equipment for use by stu2 dents at a qualified community college, 

3 ‘‘(E) investing in online resources or 

4 broadband access projects to deliver community 

5 college services to qualified areas, or developing 

6 course materials for education to be provided by 

7 a qualified community college, provided that 

8 such uses do not collectively account for more 

9 than 10 percent of the amount allocated under 

10 subsection (b)(2) to the governing body for such 

11 college, 

12 ‘‘(F) training professors and other school 

13 personnel at a qualified community college, pro14 vided that such use does not account for more 

15 than 5 percent of the amount allocated under 

16 subsection (b)(2) to the governing body for such 

17 college, 

18 ‘‘(G) constructing, rehabilitating, repair19 ing, upgrading, enhancing, or expanding any 

20 on-campus facility to be used by a qualified 

21 community college to— 

22 ‘‘(i) provide childcare to students and 

23 staff, provided that such use does not ac24 count for more than 10 percent of the 


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1 amount allocated under subsection (b)(2) 

2 to the governing body for such college, or 

3 ‘‘(ii) provide affordable housing, with 

4 a priority given to students and staff, and 

5 ‘‘(H) connecting students with transpor6 tation to a qualified community college, includ7 ing partnering with public transit providers 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(i) add bus, rail, or paratransit stops 

10 at or within walking distances of the cam11 pus, 

12 ‘‘(ii) add bus, rail, or paratransit 

13 routes to allow for transportation between 

14 the campus and surrounding areas and 

15 other cities, 

16 ‘‘(iii) increase the frequency of service 

17 or adjust the schedules for bus, rail, or 

18 paratransit routes to allow students to get 

19 to and from their classes, and 

20 ‘‘(iv) subsidize bus, rail, or para21 transit costs for students. 

22 ‘‘(7) STATE.—The term ‘State’ includes the 

23 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

24 Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 


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1 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is2 lands. 

3 ‘‘(8) STATE HIGHER EDUCATION AGENCY.—The 

4 term ‘State higher education agency’ means the offi5 cer or agency primarily responsible for the State su6 pervision of higher education. 

7 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN LABOR STANDARDS

8 TO PROJECTS FINANCED WITH QUALIFIED COMMUNITY

9 BONDS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each laborer and mechanic 

11 employed by a contractor or subcontractor in the 

12 performance of construction, alteration, or repair 

13 work financed in whole, or in part, with the proceeds 

14 of any qualified community college bond issued after 

15 the date of enactment of the Community College In16 frastructure Financing Act shall be paid wages at 

17 rates not less than those prevailing on work of a 

18 similar character in the locality, as determined by 

19 the Secretary of Labor in accordance with sub20 chapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 

21 Code. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Labor 

23 shall have, with respect to the labor standards de24 scribed in paragraph (1), the authority and func25 tions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 


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1 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1267; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 

2 3145 of title 40, United States Code.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sub4 parts for part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the In5 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting 

6 after the item relating to subpart G the following: 

‘‘SUBPART H—QUALIFIED COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS’’. 

7 SEC. 3. CREDIT TO HOLDERS AND ISSUERS OF QUALIFIED 

8 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS. 

9 (a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 54A of the Internal 

11 Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect on the day before 

12 repeal by Public Law 115–97, is revived. 

13 (2) CREDIT LIMITED TO QUALIFIED COMMU14 NITY COLLEGE BONDS.—Section 54A(d) of such 

15 Code is amended— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED TAX CREDIT BOND.—The term 

19 ‘qualified tax credit bond’ means a qualified commu20 nity college bond which is part of an issue that 

21 meets requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), 

22 and (6).’’, and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara24 graph (C) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PURPOSE.—For purposes 

2 of this paragraph, the term ‘qualified purpose’ 

3 means a purpose specified in section 54(c)(3).’’. 

4 (b) CREDIT ALLOWED TO ISSUER.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6431 of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986, as in effect on the day before 

7 repeal by Public Law 115–97, is revived. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

9 (A) Section 6431(f) of such Code, as re10 vived by paragraph (1), is amended by striking 

11 paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIED TAX CREDIT BOND.—For pur14 poses of this subsection, the term ‘specified tax cred15 it bond’ means any qualified tax credit bond (as de16 fined in section 54A(d)(1)) if the issuer of such bond 

17 makes an irrevocable election to have this subsection 

18 apply.’’. 

19 (B) Subparagraph (A) of section 

20 6211(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986 is amended by striking ‘‘and 6428A’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘6428A, and 6431’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to obli3 gations issued after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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